From the Newsdesk

Accident reporting and investigation are key to preventing accidents in the workplace. Beverly Coleman explains how focusing on these components can ensure that workplace accidents are reduced to a reasonably practicable level.

With all the publicity surrounding the UK Government’s decision to invest hundreds of millions in preparing for a possible no-deal Brexit, not to mention putting troops on stand-by, it is easy to forget that other people are making their own plans.

Wellbeing is difficult to define and, in a workplace context, it is hard to choose the best tools for assessing programmes in this area and for measuring the cost-effectiveness of these interventions.

We have reported previously on Government attempts to get businesses to take part in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) (see “Firms invited to follow Rolls-Royce and Sainsbury’s” and “Funding available to boost knowledge and skills”).

We recently reported on a Government warning that firms with poor payment records risked being stopped from bidding for public sector contracts (see “Pay promptly or lose contracts”).

The Prime Minister’s decision to delay Parliament’s “meaningful vote” on the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration has been widely condemned by leading business groups as adding to the uncertainty about how they are supposed to prepare for Brexit.

Although over half of employers who use the system said that they understand it “perfectly”, a survey on the apprenticeship levy also showed that only one in three know about the increased scope to transfer Levy funds to smaller employers.

Government suppliers who fail to pay subcontractors promptly could be prevented from tendering for future public contracts.

A major survey of work and health by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, and specialist insurance broker Howden, shows that waiting time for treatment, surgery and tests, and stress at work, are the largest causes of long-term absence.

The House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee has called on the Government to delay the introduction of its Making Tax Digital scheme for VAT for at least a year.